Fight Fire With Fire
by Schuyler J. Borne
Summary: James and Lily could never get along, especially since the incident with Snape in their 5th year. But something's changed with James, a secret. Their hostility grows, but Lily wants to figure out James Potter, the real James Potter. JamesXLily
1. Chapter 1: The Confrontation

**Hey! This my first multi-chapter story. So don't be shy about giving me constructive critisms. The more, the merrier.**

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Chapter 1: The Confrontation

"Black, you know I love you like a brother," she yelled, "but you had better get the hell out of my way right now!" The common room was empty except for the two of them, everyone else being in their dormitories getting ready for bed. Lily had stayed up waiting for James and Sirius to get back from Dumbledore's office, just so she could yell at the prick Potter herself. However, as they walked through the portal, James immediately stormed up the boy's staircase without even a glance at Lily, which was unusual. Sirius had proceeded to block Lily's attempts at following James, and now they stood here at an impasse.

"No way, Lils. I will not let you hurt him any more." He stood formidably in front of her, broad and towering at 6'3", much calmer than fiery red-head in front of him. His arms were crossed at his chest as he barred Lily from the boy's staircase.

"I've hurt him? Please." she exclaimed angrily, her tone implying the ridiculousness of the statement. As if anything could hurt _The _James Potter. "He's the arrogant toe-rag here, unless you weren't paying attention during dinner tonight." Lily matched Sirius's pose, crossing her own arms in front of her and staring right back at him menacingly. Her petite form didn't scare Sirius though, nor did the fact that he knew Lily would never hurt him - not badly, anyway. He didn't budge.

"You just don't get it Lily-bean." he shook his head sadly, as if Lily being mad at James really was a inconceivable tragedy. Which it totally wasn't. Lily had every right to be infuriated with the arse after the way he treated her.

"Oh yeah?" Lily shifted her hands onto her hips and leaned up into Sirius's face. "Care to enlighten me?"

Sirius stepped back and dropped his hands to his side. His grey eyes stared into hers for a moment, and she thought she caught a glimpse of something - sadness, perhaps - before they were hidden behind a curtain of beautiful, black shaggy hair.

"I can't." He replied after a long period of silence. "It's not my secret to share." He gave Lily a wry smile, wrapped his arms around her in a quick embrace, and bounded up the stairs after his brother in all but blood.

Lily stared up at his retreating figure, silently fuming and confused. She huffed once, muttered something that sounded like "boys", and turned to climb up the steps of her own staircase. Upstairs, her closest friends were waiting for her in their shared dormitory, like always. As her hand touched the railing at the bottom of the staircase, Lily gave one last look at the boy's staircase, and what lie beyond it. Where the infamous James Potter had fled minutes before.

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**So tell me what you think. I probably won't update too soon, as this is my first project and I'll be re-writing a lot. Thanks.**

**~Schuyler J. Borne**


	2. Chapter 2: The Fight

Chapter 2: The Explosion

As Lily went through her usual routine that next morning - shower, hair, clothes - she mulled over the events of last night. Namely, the latest and largest fight between her and Potter in the Great Hall.

_Flashback_

Damn that James Potter. _Lily thought as she walked through the corridor to Transfiguration. Earlier in Potions, she had caught Potter staring at her again. After class he stopped her in the hall._

"_Hey Evans!" He'd called to her. She studiously ignored him as she continued on with her friends toward lunch. Potter jogged forward and caught up easily, leaving his own friends behind. He walked backward in front of her, forcing her to stop, and ran his hand messily through his hair._

_Lily sneered. "Whatever it is, Potter, I don't want to hear it."_

"_Actually I __-__"_

"_James Potter." Whatever he was about to say was cut-off as the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, strode up to where James and Lily stood. "James, I'm afraid I am going to need you to accompany me to my office." The Headmaster said in an unusually somber voice._

"_Yes, sir." James replied politely, albeit with a confused look on his face. James glanced down the hall at his three best friends Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, and they returned his questioning glance with ones of their own. Sirius shrugged, not knowing what prank they could have been busted for since they hadn't pulled any recently. As Dumbledore turned to walk down the corridor, James turned back toward Lily, muttered a quick "Later." accompanied with his signature smirk, and hurried after Dumbledore._

Maybe he's gotten into trouble so many times that Dumbledore is kicking him out! _Lily could only hope as she continued her journey toward the Great Hall._

"_Wonder what that was about." Lily's best friend Marlene McKinnon spoke, voicing the thoughts of her friends. Marlene was tall, with long brown hair that hung in stylish waves, and an athlete's body from being a chaser on the Gryffindor quidditch team._

"_Who knows." Alice Prewett said softly. Alice was a small girl with short blond hair, and spent almost as much time in the Library as Lily did._

"_He is probably just in trouble again. He is my cousin after all." Jessica Potter remarked smiling devilishly. She winked at a passing fourth year boy as she said, "We Potters do tend to be _naughty._" The boy trapped under Jessica's gaze nearly hyperventilated on the spot, and the whole group of girls giggled at their friends antics. Jessica was stunning, her shoulder length black hair straight and a little unruly, a Potter trait. She had grown into a womanly figure early, and she quickly learned to use it to her advantage. Jessica had boys drooling over her wherever she went, and her friends constantly teased her about her popularity with the opposite sex._

_After their recent bout of laughter finished, the girls made their way to the Great Hall, all leaving their thoughts of James Potter behind, except for one red-head._

_All throughout lunch and Transfiguration, Lily couldn't help but wondering when Potter would show his face. He had yet to be seen coming back from Professor Dumbledore's office, and Lily was a little worried. Not that she cared about the arrogant toe-rag, but they did need him if Gryffindor wanted to win the Quidditch Cup again this year. Potter was Quidditch Captain, a fact that inflated his already large ego even more._

_Lily was contemplating whether or not Potter really was expelled, while on her way to dinner with her friends she got her answer. As she walked into the Great Hall, Lily found Potter and his crew of neanderthals sitting in their usual seats in the middle of the table. _Of course, _Lily thought, _there was no way precious Potter would ever be expelled. _Lily and her friends continued toward their own seats at the other end of the table, and as they passed the boys, Lily finally got an up-close glimpse of James. When she saw him, she gasped. James was slumped over in his seat, his eyes were rimmed in red under his round glasses, as if he'd recently been crying, but the worst part was that his eyes looked defeated, as if he had given up. Lily had never seen his eyes look so dead before in her life. They always looked smiling and determined especially when directed at her. Now they just looked empty, broken._

"_What happened?" Marlene asked. It seemed Lily wasn't the only one to notice James' ragged state and the somber mood of his fellow Marauders._

_Sirius looked up at the sound of Marlene's voice. "None of your business, McKinnon." He growled, his grey eyes churning like a hurricane._

"_Hey!" Lily exclaimed, taken aback. "There's no need to talk to her like that. She was just concerned. We all are." The girls behind her nodded in agreement._

_Sirius snorted in disbelief. "Yeah right, Lily. As if you've ever given a rat's ass about James's well being before in your life." James looked up when he heard his name mentioned._

"_Just leave me alone Lily, okay? Just go." James finally croaked out, his voice sounding scratched and raspy. He stuck his head back down, avoiding eye contact. Lily felt a small pang. James had almost never used her first name. They stood in silence for a long time, no one giving the girls the answers they were looking for._

"_What is it Potter?" Lily asked, all the silence finally getting on her nerves. _How dare Potter dismiss her just like that? _"Finally got in trouble with Dumbledore for hexing students in the hall? Finally get tired of asking me out only to get rejected? Oh wait, let me guess. You just got an owl from your parents saying you would only get 99 presents for Christmas this year?"_

_At the last statement, James leapt to his feet. "Don't you dare say a word about my family, Evans!" He was seething._

"_Oh, have I hit a nerve Potter?" Lily exploded back. "What? Did your 12th favorite mansion burn down? Poor you."_

"_Evans, shut up!" James pulled his wand from his robes, and aimed it right between Lily's eyes. "You stupid, goody-two-shoes, bloody know-it-all! Shut up!"_

_Lily had whipped out her wand right after James and they both stood across the table from each other. Their chests were heaving, faces red, and both were daring each other to make the first move with their eyes._

"_James Potter!"_

_For the second time that day, Albus Dumbledore walked towards James as he called his name. It wasn't until then that Lily noticed how completely silent the Great Hall had become. "You and Mr. Black, please go to my office. I will be with you in just a moment." Dumbledore turned back around to talk to Professor McGonagall._

_James lowered his wand slowly, but the fire in his eyes stayed. He abruptly turned on his heels and headed for the doors, with Sirius close behind James. Lily lowered her wand as she watched them walk away, wanting to yell at James to come back so she could hex him into oblivion._

"_Lily?" Remus asked shyly. "Are you –" He cut off, seeing the flames still present in Lily's eyes. "Never mind." He mumbled._

_Lily stormed down the table after her friends to their usual seats and sat down. She fumed silently for a couple of minutes, but she found that she didn't really have an appetite any more. As she stood to leave her friends looked up at her._

"_Where are you going?" Marlene asked, her eyebrows furrowed._

"_I'm going to sit in the dorm and wait for Potter and Black to get back so I can give them a piece of my mind!" Lily ranted. After her tirade, Lily's friends bid her a timid goodbye._

_She stormed up the staircase, trying to work off her anger, but nothing seemed to be working. When she got in the Common Room, she plopped onto the large fluffy couch in front of the fire. She sat there for a long time, just staring at the glowing embers and flames in the fireplace, even as her fellow Gryffindors passed her. When they came back from dinner, her friends asked if she was going to bed, but she told them no. She would wait. James Potter would come back eventually, and she would be here when he did._

_End Flashback_

As she had waited there, on that couch, for the rest of the night, but she could even get a word out before James had run to his room. Now she would see him at breakfast. This would be an interesting morning.


End file.
